Buckle



(No Model.)

J. F. BARTLETT.

BUCKLE.

No. 365,226. Patented June 21, 1887.

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W z'znesses UNITED STATES ATENT OFFICEQ.

JAMES FRANCIS BARTLETT, OF CLEVELAND, OHIO.

BUCKLE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 365,226, dated June 21, 1887.

Applicaiion iilcd October 1, 1886. Serial No. $5,004. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

shall be readily replaceable when worn with- Be it known that I, JAMES FRANCIS BART- out removal of the trace itself. LETT, a citizen of the United States, residing at -With these objecls in view my invention re- Cleveland, in the county of Ouyahega and State sides, essentially, in a buckle having a central 5 of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful stud, pin, or tongue, and keepers at the end, Improvements in Buckles; and Ido hereby dethe keepers being loops of substantially the clare the following to be a full, clear, and exact same height and size, but one being cut,curved, description ofthe invention,such as will enable or beveled off on the under side of its top from others skilled in the art to which it appertains within outward. IO to make and use the same. Furthermore, the invention resides in a This invention ,relates to buckles for hartracefastening consisting of the described ness or trace fastenings. buckle provided with a slot at its rear end,

Heretofore in harnesses the most usual combined with a separate strap or piece havmethod of lengthening or shortening the traces ing an opening for attaehmentupon the whi'ille- 1 5 or tugs has been by the employment of an ortree.

dinary buckle placed at that portion of the I have illustrated the invention in the ac harness which would be at or near the neck of companying drawings, in which the animal in use. A- buckle is objectionable Figure 1 is a plan view of a trace-fastening here, however, for the reason that, besides bemade in accordance with my invention, show- 2 ing at the neck or shoulders of the animal,and ing theplate, the loops, the stud, the trace, and

thus likely to gall him, it is in a position to the separate piccefor attachment to the whifllerub against or be rubbed by the tongue or tree, the trace being broken away to show this. shafts of the vehicle, and thus injure both the Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the same, but showbuckle audthe tongue or shaft. Furthermore, ing one loop canted; and Fig. 3 is a central 25 the buckle most commonly used is the ordilongitudinal vertical section showing, in adnary buckle, which cannot be adjusted quickly dition to what is displayed by Fig. 1, the parto lengthen and shorten the trace. Furtherticular configuration of one of the loops. more, traces have generally been attached to In the accompanying drawings, A represents the vehicle by inserting the ends of whiil'lea plate, of metal or other suitable substance, 0 trees into slots or openings in the ends of the sufficiently strong to withstand the strain, as traces, so that when such an opening was worn upon a trace, and provided, preferably near or torn out the entire trace had often to be dis its center, with a stud, )in, or tongue of suitcarded. \Vhere buckles havebeen used at the able diameter and length to enter an ordinary rear portion of the traces, and have consisted hole in a trace and retain the trace against a 5 of a plate having loops at the ends, the plate lateral pull. The plate is also provided,near has either been curved or, in an instance each end,with loops a a toincloseatraceand where the plate was flat, the loops have been of 'retain it in engagement with the stud, pin, or different heights, and in both instances adding tongue (0, serving as keepers. The loops are to the difficulty and cost of construction, parof substantially the same height and size, and 4c ticularly in casting, and in the last instance on their exterior are of substantially the same increasing the liability of the whole buckle to shape; but it will be observed that one of them, interference with other parts, and to injury by a, (the loop which is at the rear end of the having one portion project more than another. plate in use,) is of adifferentshape inside from The object of the present invention is to pro that of the loop a. On the under side ofits top 5 duce abuckle as for a traee-fasteningand so plate it is beveled or cut from within outward,

constructed as to be capable of being placed and the purpose of this construction is to alnear the whiffletree, and also capable of rapid low a trace more readily to be inserted, and and ready adjustment to change the length of after insertion to have more play at the rear a trace or other strap, rope, or the like. end for purposes of manipulation of the 50 Furthermore, the object is to produce means trace, to remove it and to permit it more for fastening the trace to the whiffletree,which gradually to rise over any projection there.

Instead of being cut away or beveled, as de-' scribed, the loop may be canted inward,for the same purpose.

B represents a strap, of any suitable material, orapiece of leather, preferably of a width and thickness corresponding to the trace, this piece being attached in a suitable slot, at, in the plate A. The piece B has ahole, I), for the reception of the end of the whiffletree, and upon this piece all the draft strain and twist come. When the piece is torn or worn,it may be replaced by another at very small cost and without discarding the trace.

0 represents the trace, which may beof any desired size or thickness, and which is provided with the usual holes, 0.

It will be seen from an inspection of Fig. 3 that the configuration of the inner portion of the top of the rear loop, a', permits the trace gradually to rise over the thickened portion of the additional strip or piece B, and how play is permitted to the end of the trace to manipulate the same in attachment or detachmentiu lengthening or shortening of the same. From the construction shown and described it will be clear that thelengthening and shortening of a trace or other piece may readily be accomplished by raising it upon the plate between the loops, as by pushing against it outside of the loop a sufliciently to clear the stud a, and then sliding it along'to bring this stud into another of the holes.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. The herein-described buckle, consisting of a metal plate provided with a pin, stud, or

JAMES FRANCIS BARTLETT. Witnesses:

L. II. WARE, A. L. LIEBLEIN. 

